Historian Epstein (Torpedo) provides a rigorous overview of tensions that emerged between militaries and defense contractors over intellectual property law in the early 20th century. At the center of Epstein’s argument is a breakthrough “analog computer” designed in 1906 by British inventors Arthur Pollen and Michael Isherwood that used algorithmic prediction to radically improve the ability of one ship’s guns to target another. Pollen and Isherwood’s “calculating and predicting machine” was quickly pirated by both the Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy, a theft which Epstein uses as an entry point to an expansive tour of British and U.S. patent law and the turn-of-the-century squabbling that proliferated among private contractors and the British and U.S. governments. She shows how emerging concerns about national security and state secrets clashed with existing liberal attitudes about the importance of protecting IP as both countries, jockeying for naval dominance, trampled over the rights of inventors. Once the reader acclimates to the technical jargon, the narrative takes on a brisk, dishy feel, as Epstein peppers her catalogue of stolen inventions and legal disputes with evocative firsthand accounts. In her opening and closing sections, though, Epstein offers hot takes on much broader topics, including current China-U.S. relations, that feel somewhat rushed. Still, this is a unique perspective on the military-industrial complex that, at its best, reads like a legal thriller for the technically minded. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink

Recent spikes in depression, anxiety, and loneliness across the world have resulted from people forgetting that “we are biological beings,” contends psychiatrist Hansen (The Attention Fix) in this solid study. For hundreds of thousands of years, humans lived in hunter-gatherer tribes of a few dozen people, got four to five hours of physical activity a day, and spent most of their time avoiding disease and other threats. The brain evolved for survival in these circumstances, creating neural mechanisms that are incompatible with humans’ increasingly isolated, sedentary lifestyles and spurring epidemics of loneliness and depression. Unpacking the evolutionary underpinnings of these and other mental health issues, Hansen offers a few surprising insights, among them that depression may have evolved to ward off infection (long-term stress—which can weaken the body’s immune system—causes depressive feelings “that make us withdraw” from society and its possible infectious agents). Such theories are revealing and cogently explained, even if the suggestions the author provides for grappling with modern stressors are nothing new (recommendations include expressing difficult feelings and breathing exercises). Still, it’s a perceptive take on what’s ailing modern society. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink

In this erudite inquiry, Mynott (Birds in the Ancient World), the former chief executive of Cambridge University Press, probes humanity’s relationship with nature throughout history. He argues that Ice Age art depicting human-animal hybrids (one 40,000-year-old ivory sculpture called the Lion Man shows a human body with a now extinct cave lion’s head) indicate that prehistoric humans saw themselves as part of nature, merely “one animal among others.” That changed during the agricultural revolution around 9,500 BCE, Mynott contends, suggesting that as humans began to farm and keep livestock, they developed notions of “domestic” and “wild” and came to view themselves as outside the latter. The scientific revolution inspired hopes of dominating the natural world through an increasingly sophisticated understanding of its mechanisms, with French philosopher René Descartes believing that Newton’s laws of physics would enable humans to become the “lords and masters of nature.” Elsewhere, Mynott discusses how European colonizers’ encounters with the vast wildernesses of North America sparked contradictory impulses toward conservation and development (Henry David Thoreau touted the benefits of “half cultivated” land), and how the increasing concentration of global populations in urban areas has alienated many people from nature. Mynott’s ambitious undertaking pays off, shedding light on thousands of years of human history by striking a finely calibrated balance of big-picture analysis and specific examples. As sweeping as it is edifying, this impresses. Photos. Agent: Caroline Dawnay, United Agents. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink

Hipp (Field Guide to Wisconsin Sedges), herbarium director at the Morton Arboretum in Illinois, serves up a stimulating exploration of oak tree biology. Explaining oak reproduction, Hipp describes how male flowers grow organs called stamens that release pollen capable of traveling as far as a football field before, ideally, landing on a female oak flower, where the pollen then produces a “tube” that penetrates the flower’s stigma and deposits sperm cells that fertilize the flower’s ovule, producing an acorn. Hipp discusses various oak species’ surprisingly active survival strategies, noting that, for instance, the Holm oak deals with stress by sprouting “fine roots that are better able to gather resources from the soil.” Chronicling the evolution of oaks, Hipp traces the emergence of flowering plants over 100 million years ago, the first acorn’s appearance 60 million years ago, and the oak’s entrance onto the scene during a period of intense global warming caused by volcanic activity 50 million years ago. Hipp brings a lyrical sensibility to the botany, comparing the genetic recombination that occurs during oak reproduction to Miles Davis’s splicing and remixing snippets of recordings to create his song “Pharaoh’s Dance,” and Rachel D. Davis’s black-and-white watercolors provide dreamlike illustrations of the plants discussed. Nature lovers will get a kick out of this. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink

Melchior (Shared Services) examines the ripple effects of a 1963 murder in his hometown of Evansville, Ind., in this immersive blend of memoir and true crime. He opens with a thorough account of the death of Rudy Ziemer, a gay man who was killed by three paratroopers in a hate crime. A smear campaign against Ziemer resulted in a not guilty verdict, and the fallout divided Evansville, causing Melchior’s mother, Dolores, to lose friends when she denounced the defendants. From there, Melchior chases multiple threads: Ziemer was a client at his grandfather’s dry cleaning business, where Dolores worked as a “silk finisher,” pressing out stubborn wrinkles in clothes. Melchior utilizes his mother’s work as a metaphor for his attempts to untangle his relationship to Evansville and consider the ways his family history sheds light on contemporary political issues. He recounts his uncle’s addiction to opioids, his great-uncle’s closeted homosexuality, and Evansville’s legacy of racism, artfully extrapolating the influences those stories—and Ziemer’s—have had in shaping his life. With thorough research and sturdy prose, Melchior nimbly weaves many narrative strands into a fascinating tapestry. It’s a unique and affecting account. Photos. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink

Therapist Kim (Single, On Purpose) provides a sensitive and approachable guide to bouncing back from heartbreak. Outlining eight types of breakups and the unique challenges each poses, he explains that a “first true love” is especially tough to get over because it “makes the deepest imprint” and is easily idealized (“The canvas of your heart was cleaner, so every brushstroke was seen and felt. And when you play back the relationship, you see and experience it through the eyes of that younger person”). Divorce, on the other hand, is socially stigmatized and requires detangling an intricate relationship in which children, finances, and friends are often shared. Stressing that readers should use breakups to fuel personal growth, Kim recommends that those trapped in an endless cycle of breaking up and getting back together identify common denominators to their failed relationships to avoid perpetuating harmful patterns in the future. Though some of Kim’s cheerleading feels rote (“Your heart didn’t break/It awakened”), he offers valuable, nuanced insights that are enriched by candid disclosures about his own breakups, including a divorce that “chopped me down at the knees.” The result is a solid starting point for the lovelorn. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink

Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842–1906), the second woman to graduate from the Sorbonne medical school, played a forgotten but critical role in feminist history, according to this brilliant account. Reeder (Dust Bowl Girls) describes how over the course of the 19th century, women excluded from male-only universities were increasingly able to enter the medical profession via newly established women’s colleges, leading to a misogynist backlash from the male-dominated field. Drawing on pseudoscience and eugenics, male doctors gave speeches and published popular tracts on how women were naturally sickly due to their menstrual cycles, and thus should never be entrusted with important roles like the practice of medicine. Jacobi, a talented physician and fiery advocate for women’s advancement, came up with the idea of conducting the first-ever scientific, data-backed study of women’s reproductive biology, enlisting other women she met through her suffragist activism to help. The 1874 study, which was the first to use a questionnaire to gather health-related data, resulted in groundbreaking discoveries—including that a woman’s body temperature fluctuates throughout her menstrual cycle—while definitively disproving that there is any change to a woman’s physical strength associated with menstruation. Reeder’s winsomely written narrative touches on issues strikingly similar to ones widely discussed today, including women’s ongoing frustration with the lack of robust medical study of the female body and the troubling reemergence of reactionary assertions that women are by design not fit for work. It’s an urgent and revealing slice of history. (Dec.)

Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly stated that Jacobi was the first woman to graduate from the Sorbonne medical school.

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink

In these earnest if slight essays, members of the NBA’s Social Justice Coalition, formed in 2020 in response to the George Floyd protests, reflect on their commitment to activism. Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff argues for “breaking down the stigma Black men often feel about seeking mental health treatment,” lamenting that Black men racially profiled by police often experience post-traumatic stress symptoms but don’t seek help. San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones discusses fearing for his kids’ safety amid frequent school shootings, and notes that the Spurs donated over $1 million to Uvalde, Tex., for mental health services and youth sports equipment after the mass shooting there in 2022. “We desperately need systemic policing reform,” contends retired L.A. Sparks guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, recounting how her 22-year-old cousin was killed by a sheriff’s deputy and how her team brought attention to police violence by wearing uniforms bearing Breonna Taylor’s name during the 2020 season. Though a few of the personal stories are heartbreaking, the calls to secure ballot access, eliminate food insecurity, and reform the prison system, among other social justice issues, are largely lacking in specifics, sharing little that readers won’t already know. Despite good intentions, this doesn’t add much to the conversation. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink

This enlightening study from McBride (The Whole Durn Human Comedy), a film professor at San Francisco State University, examines the career of director George Cukor (1899–1983) “through his work with his actors.” Recounting how Cukor made the jump from theater to film by working as a “dialogue director” enlisted to help filmmakers make the transition from silent movies to sound, McBride describes how Cukor infuriated Lew Ayres, the inexperienced star of All Quiet on the Western Front, by dictating line readings, though he elicited a distinctly understated performance from the actor. McBride argues that Cukor, a “partially closeted” gay man, found a kindred spirit in his “androgynous” frequent collaborator Katherine Hepburn, and helped shape her performance style after encouraging her to tone down her “highfalutin’ ” acting for A Bill of Divorcement. Elsewhere, McBride discusses Cukor’s inspired decision to cast Judy Garland, then known for her musical comedy roles, as the dramatic lead in A Star Is Born after watching her surprisingly soulful rendition of “Happy Birthday” at a party. Though McBride offers shrewd insight into Cukor’s approach to filmmaking, lengthy plot summaries occasionally threaten to overwhelm the analysis. Still, film buffs will find plenty of food for thought. Photos. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink

In her fascinating debut, singer Levesque chronicles her rise to fame and subsequent disappearance from the spotlight. She begins with an account of her tumultuous childhood in 1990s New England as the only daughter of parents who met in Alcoholics Anonymous. Both of her parents sang and played instruments at home, and Levesque’s vocal gifts became clear by age two. By 12, she’d turned down one recording contract for a better one, “scaring the shit” out of her mom as she galloped toward stardom. In bingeable, sometimes-hilarious prose, Levesque recounts the early success of her songs “Too Little, Too Late” and “Leave (Get Out),” and the humiliation of getting booed while opening for Usher in France. She balances those frothy reflections with darker subject matter, including sections on her compulsive use of alcohol and sex to escape the “discomfort of being in my own skin,” and how her rapid ascent caused her mother’s mental health to worsen. Whether she’s discussing the 2013 lawsuit she filed against her record label for keeping her career in limbo or waxing poetic about the physical pleasures of singing, Levesque sets this celebrity memoir apart with her bracing candor and generous refusal to villainize those who’ve let her down. It’s a memorable glimpse behind the curtain of fame. Agent: Abby Walters, CAA. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 10/04/2024 | Details & Permalink